New pond (tank) in Nebraska

[Waterbug]

I use baking soda, but adding a little from time to time is not something I would do. I test KH and that tells how much to add if any. I think in general adding a little doesn't have much effect. A lot of people like stuff that dissolve slowly like oyster shell, but again, not a lot of control, slow response. I think a lot of people are adverse to any chemical looking stuff. I assume oyster shell would provide some trace elements so that could be a plus.

I think there are probably a lot of minerals used by bacteria and other things. I kind of had to draw a line of where I would stop testing. For my ponds I assumed trace minerals came into the pond via water changes, plants, rocks, fish food. Long term it could be a problem, but I have to stop someplace. I would probably invest in O2 testing before magnesium. GH test may indicate magnesium, but not for sure.

KH is easy to test, cheap and easy to adjust and it's one of the high consumables, (O2 and ammonia the other two) so it's something I do. But for my largest pond system I doubt I add 10 pounds of baking soda in five years. Probably would have been fine never testing or adjusting. I had a really light (normal) fish load, little rain and hard city water. A pond that gets a lot of rain or high fish load would be an entirely different deal.

 

[Catfishnut]

Here is a picture of the platform that I made for the sediment filter, for the rocks to rest upon. I cut it out of a square piece of 1/2 polyethylene and drilled 7/16" holes in it for water to pass through. I put a few odd pieces of plastic pipe at the bottom of the tank for supports and adhered them to the bottom of the tank with 3M's 5200 Marine grade polyurethane adhesive.

If you are wondering, it was a LOT of drilling!

Gordy

 

[Catfishnut]

These are the filter strainers that I am using in all the tanks. They come with two sections attached to eachother, but that was too long to fit into my filter barrels, so I detached one of them, pried the end cap off the end and attached it to the shortened piece. In the BIG tank, I will use the whole length.

They sell a filter bag to slip over the strainer, but those were quite expensive. These strainers weren't all that cheap either. I figured that as a consumable item, I wasn't going to buy the filter bags for these strainers. I am just going to buy a bag of cheap, men's tube socks! They will work just fine and a bag of what... six pair or eight for about $4-$6. Beats $12-$14 for one filter bag (no brainer there).

Gordy

 

[Catfishnut]

Here are some pix of the inside of the sediment filter barrel with the support platform in place and the PVC aerator array. It's not hooked up here and no water in the tank, it is just for visualization purposes.

You might notice that there are two eye-bolts attached to the platform. I wanted the platform to fit tightly within the i.d. of the barrel, but the mouth of the barrel is a bit smaller diameter than the body of the barrel, so it isn't very easy to get the platform in and out of the barrel through the mouth at the top. I had to install the eyebolts so that I would have something to grab onto when I wanted to pull it out. I put the platform in without them once, just to test my sizing. Wow, did I cuss myself when I tried to pull it back out!

Gordy

 

[Catfishnut]

I use baking soda, but adding a little from time to time is not something I would do. I test KH and that tells how much to add if any. I think in general adding a little doesn't have much effect. A lot of people like stuff that dissolve slowly like oyster shell, but again, not a lot of control, slow response. I think a lot of people are adverse to any chemical looking stuff. I assume oyster shell would provide some trace elements so that could be a plus.

I think there are probably a lot of minerals used by bacteria and other things. I kind of had to draw a line of where I would stop testing. For my ponds I assumed trace minerals came into the pond via water changes, plants, rocks, fish food. Long term it could be a problem, but I have to stop someplace. I would probably invest in O2 testing before magnesium. GH test may indicate magnesium, but not for sure.

KH is easy to test, cheap and easy to adjust and it's one of the high consumables, (O2 and ammonia the other two) so it's something I do. But for my largest pond system I doubt I add 10 pounds of baking soda in five years. Probably would have been fine never testing or adjusting. I had a really light (normal) fish load, little rain and hard city water. A pond that gets a lot of rain or high fish load would be an entirely different deal.

Waterbug,

I really desire to not use any chemicals, personally. If I can set the system up really well, so that it is nearly, completely self-sustaining, that would be best. I am certain that my bait fish won't care much at all. They are pretty tough and hardy and can live in all sorts of muck and poor water. But, I do want the bacteria cultures to thrive. They are going to be my hired hands for keeping the water clean. If I eventually get this whole system set up based on nature's own design, it will be much better off. I have lots of freedom to adapt, improvise and design this system. I have the space and the time and, since it is above ground, I can make changes easily and revamp something if it doesn't work out well.

Just out of curiousity, can a person use ground chicken egg shells for calcium? Or are oyster shells better?

Gordy

 

[HARO]

Gordy; for what it's worth I use dried, ground-up egg shells to provide calcium for my pigeons. They should work as well as oyster shells for your purposes, and the prise is right. Also, around here we can't get oyster shell any more. The story is that Obama has put an end to the stripping of oyster beds to help the environment. See, even Canadians can blame your president for SOME things!!! John

 

[Catfishnut]

Gordy; for what it's worth I use dried, ground-up egg shells to provide calcium for my pigeons. They should work as well as oyster shells for your purposes, and the prise is right. Also, around here we can't get oyster shell any more. The story is that Obama has put an end to the stripping of oyster beds to help the environment. See, even Canadians can blame your president for SOME things!!! John

Haro,

"Price is right", that was what I was thinking, too! Thanks. And thank you for the political smile (I am not fond of B.O. myself)! Ha Ha Ha!

Gordy

 

[Waterbug]

The issue comes down to bio load. If you have a tank chuck full of fish you'll probably need a lot of bio filters which means a lot of acid. Slow release materials may not be able to handle the load. I'm not sure in this type of deal you really get much of a choice.

If the load is small you may not need to add any buffering at all if your source water already had high KH.

In between those extremes all options are available.

 

[Catfishnut]

The issue comes down to bio load. If you have a tank chuck full of fish you'll probably need a lot of bio filters which means a lot of acid. Slow release materials may not be able to handle the load. I'm not sure in this type of deal you really get much of a choice.

If the load is small you may not need to add any buffering at all if your source water already had high KH.

In between those extremes all options are available.

I suppose I am quite premature to be discussing the KH and other chemistry issues. I still have quite a bit of work to get done and I don't even have any fish for the tank yet. That will come this spring. This winter will be spent evaluating the heating needs. But, at least now I know some of the specific points to be concerned with (for the water chemistry). I should have plenty of time over this winter to get a lot of research accomplished.

Gordy